Nate Raymond

BOSTON, (Reuters) – A former University of Southern California water polo coaching staff accepted bribes in order to secure athletic spots at the school for the children of wealthy parents. This was according to a prosecution statement on Thursday during the beginning of the second U.S. college admissions trial.

A U.S. Assistant Attorney Ian Stearns said to a federal jury that Jovan Vvic misled USC admissions officials for years into believing unqualified high school students could be part of his championship water-polo team.

Vavic, fired in 2019, was one of dozens of coaches and parents charged in an “Operation Varsity Blues” investigation that looked into how celebrities and executives illegally obtained spots at top universities for their children.

Stearns declared in his opening speech that they would not play for their team. It was a fabrication. He was only recruiting them for money.

According to him, the money was paid to William “Rick”, a “corrupted” college admissions advisor who made payments for a USC account to fund Vavic’s team. He also paid almost $120,000 to pay tuition at private schools for his children.

Stephen Larson was Vavic’s attorney and argued that Singer was a con man who kept the coach secret about the plan. He said that Vavic (60) never asked for bribes, but was instead trying to recruit water polo players who could be donated to USC.

Larson claimed that Jovan Vacic was not a part of the college admissions scandal.

Singer was the chief operator of the scheme and pleaded guilty to helping students get into colleges by cheating college entrance exams, as well as by paying coaches at USC (a key focus of the scheme), and other schools such Yale and Stanford to aid them in becoming phony athletes.

51 of the total 57 defendants have pleaded guilty. This includes Felicity Hufman and Lori Loughlin (actresses), who are among Singer’s wealth clients.

Stearns claimed that among the students Vavic recruited was John Wilson, a son of a private equity financier. Wilson was sentenced 15 months after being convicted together with another parent at October’s first trial stemming from the scandal. He intends to appeal.